Southeast Asia and Islam

Muslims in Southeast Asia and the Geographical Roots of Islamization

Muslims make up an estimated 1.3 billion of the world’s populace. Around 60% of them are thought to reside in Asia. Muslims make up about 250 million people in Southeast Asia. Despite being a minority, Muslims in this area have a significant impact on how Islam will develop in the future. Consequently, the purpose of this article is to concentrate on the geographical roots and the influences that influenced the early Islamization.

Foreign Scholars’ Research and Limited Sources

Foreign academics (such as Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, British, and Australian) have written extensively about the origins of Islam in Southeast Asia. - a region roughly stretching from Cambodia and Burma (Myanmar) in present Indochina down to Patani in southern Thailand, to the entire Malay Peninsula to Brunei, Celebes, and further south to present Indonesia then to Sulu and Mindanao in southern Philippines (Mutalib 2008, 3). However, there are limited sources that had provided by scholars on the dates, originating sources and agencies of the Islamization process.

Factors Influencing the Spread of Islam

Some scholars claim that combination of factors might have influenced the spread of Islam throughout the archipelago. For example, via Muslim traders that controlled much of the Indian Ocean trade route, Suffi missionaries, intermarriage with a royal household, the King’s conversion to Islam, and the appeal and the universality of the Faith. Moreover, from early ages, many aspects of the life of present-day Southeast Asia Muslim were influenced by the “Sri Vijaya” empire with its characteristic of Hindu-Buddhist custom. This empire collapsed in thirteenth century, yet its presence was still focused in some regions like mainland Southeast Asia and Java, where the Theravada- Buddhism was practiced widely. Therefore, when it was added to Sufi’s practice of tolerance for co-existence with a prevailing socio-cultural environment of pre-Islam Southeast Asia, eventually it blended into the nature of Islamic traditions in many areas of the region.

The Spread of Islam in the Tenth Century

“Some scholars suggest that Islam had begun to reach the shores of Southeast Asia, by about the tenth century, due to the Muslim tombstones and other archeological findings in places such as Champa and Surabaya. In addition, according to the Chinese sources about the medieval Hindu Kingdom of Champa in the tenth century recorded the names of several Muslim men, such as, Pu lo E or Abu Ah and Hu Xuan or Hussain who were assumed to be traders or officials” (Mutalib 2008, 5). Nevertheless, the large-scale Muslim conversion occurred in the fifteenth century after the defeat of Champa by the Vietnamese.

Islamic Development in Maritime Southeast Asia

In maritime regions of Southeast Asia, another Islamic development occurred. By the thirteenth century, many historiographies pointed to Islamic cultures. The Pasai leader sent two Muslim ambassadors, Husayn and Sulayman to China. Thus, Marco Polo recorded in his travels that the people of Perlak in Sumantra were Muslims. By that time, Pasai was already well known in the Middle East, especially in Mecca and Egypt. Historical reports recorded that some Meccan scholars and Ulama had sought help about religious opinions (fatwa) from Pasai Ulama (Mutalib 2008, 5).

Spread of Islam to Malacca and the Surrounding Areas

Next, Islam spread from Pasai in Sumantra to the port city of Malacca in the Malay Peninsula, where it was to become the main leading Islamic center in the entire region during the fifteenth century. Some historical evidences and chronicles prove that Parameswara, the Malaccan king converted to Islam in 1414 and married to a Pasai princess. After the marriage, he contributed to the conversion to Islam. In 1446, under the rule if the Mudzaffar Shah, announced Islam as the official religion of the State. With an influence of his successors, religious scholars, and leadership, people converted to Islam, and gradually it spread through the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Patani in Thailand, North Borneo, Brunei and Mindanao in the Philippines. “Islam would’ve spread wider and more rapidly beyond Mindanao if not for the Spanish conquest in 1570” (Mutalib 2008, 6). The Spanish were determined to establish Christianity in Filipinos. Around millions of Muslims in Philippines, due to the Spanish’s arrival, were resettled or migrated farther to the south, before their loss of ancestral land. According to a World Bank Study in 2005, the issue of ancestral land ownership continues to be a major source of Muslim unhappiness in the Republic. After the Portuguese landed in Malacca and later in Dutch in 1642, the Javanese states lost their position to assume the Muslim leadership of the region, regardless of how much Islamized was Java by then.

Colonialism and its Effect on Islamization

Another aspect that impacted Islamization is colonialism, with its political, economic, cultural, and religious effect. Islamic laws (sharia) were controlled and standardized by colonial officials who often used Western, secular models in governing the states under their charge. As a result, the power of Muslim elites and the practice of Shariah weakened. Other example is the colonization of the Philippines, by the Americans (1899-1903) and later by the Spanish, which led the Philippines to become the only Christian majority-state in Southeast Asia. All the lands turned to a church and were controlled by Spanish political and religious elites. Moreover, the impact of colonization intensified as the French armies took over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Contemporary Islam in Southeast Asia

Islam in Southeast Asia is multidimensional due to different interpretations by various groups within the region. The Nahdlatul Ulama emerged in Indonesia, which takes after the Shafii School of permissible accretion. Muhammadiyah is a mixture of the modern philosophies integrated with Islamic beliefs (Formichi 2016, p. 696). A combination of the two Islamic groups with other Muslims living in Indonesia played significant roles towards political, social and economic transformation. The movement led to the formation of Islamic civil groups alongside political parties that advocated for the creation of Sharia laws that were preferred by majority Muslims living in Southeast Asia (Seat 2014, p. 501). Majority Muslims in the region come from different ethnic groups, origins, and speak different languages such as Burmese, Marano, Thai, Malay, Tausung, Indonesia, Chinese and Javanese. The continuous interaction between the Southeast Asian Muslims and the Middle East Asians such as the Saudis through paying pilgrimage to Mecca has promoted the growth of the religion leading to translation of the sacred Islamic texts into vernacular languages (Formichi 2016, p. 698). The daily practices and supplications differ significantly across the countries in Southeast Asian countries due to the demographic composition of the populations. Countries with majority Muslims like Indonesia use Sharia laws. Businesses and products sold are sharia-compliant which support promotes Islamic culture and virtues.

Common Traditions and Practices among Southeast Asian Muslims

Despite the differences, Muslims living in Southeast Asia practice common traditions such as the five duties of Islam. Muslims describe the responsibilities as the Islamic fundamental necessary for building faith (Siddique 2003, n.pag). The five daily prayers, hope, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca. The five pillars of Islam are the foundations upon which the belief is built as well as guiding the practice of the religion by advocating for love and support for brothers.

Islamic Movements and Intersections with Other Religions

Islamic movements such as Dakwah that emerged throughout the region characterized the late 1970s. The movements strengthened and revitalized the religion and its practice in the region to adjust the changing values in the society. As such, the movements are commonly known as Islamization, revivalism, or resurgence. The movement achieved great success, especially in ensuring that women and adolescent girls wear a headscarf (Siddique 2003, n.pag). The economy improved rapidly during this time that created great economic power that led to increases in religious investments by traveling for Hajj and investment in Islamic literature. For instance, the Malaysian government promotes the spread of Islam through Islamization of policies governing the society, economics, education as well as Islam Hadhari (Formichi 2016, p. 700). The movements created conflict tradition and modernity in belief among Southeast Asian people. For example, most scholars from Southeast Asia to the Middle East in the early 1900s introduced new ideas from the Middle East such as Muhammadiyah, which was associated with the modernist movement. On the other hand, Nahdlatul Ulama is a traditional movement that upholds the traditional beliefs and is opposed to modernists’ ideologies.

Southeast Asia has other religions that have intersected with alternative religious practices in several ways. For instance, the jinn, which represents Islamic spiritual beings, has incorporated Javanese spirits (Siddique 2003, n.pag). On the other hand, countries like Indonesia have integrated animist traditions with Islam (Cochrane 2017, n.pag). Sufism also assists the development of Islamic religion in numerous Southeast Asian countries. Besides, traveling to the blessed city of Mecca and Madinah (Seat 2014, p. 502). The introduction of steamships in the mid-19th century eased the journey to the holy cities in Saudi Arabia. As the majority of the people in this region joined the trip to Mecca, Arabic and Arabian brand of Islam integrated into the lives of the Muslims living in the area (Siddique 2003, n.pag). Scholars indicate that Hajj from Southeast Asian countries attracted minimal or no attention at all. Islam influences the lives of people living in the region as it is integrated into their culture, schools, and daily activities (Formichi 2016, p. 702). As such, there is no distinction between religion, ethnicity, and the nations at large. The number of Islamic schools in the region is rapidly increasing, which combines Islamic culture, religion, and life. Similarly, a mixture of animism, tibbun, and hikmah influences the field of medicine. Tibbun refers to pre-Islamic elements while hikmah refers to the lineage of Islam scholars, which influence modern practices in the field of biomedicine. Besides, the Islamic banks are sharia-compliant and do not charge interest (Seat 2014, p. 502). Additionally, the segmentation of the regional countries by colonial government created minority Muslim populations living at the edge of the nations. Various Muslim organizations like Muslim World League have consistently advocated for their rights. Some of the worst experiences among the Southeast Asians include the ethnic cleansing of the minority Rohingya people in Myanmar.

The Spread of Islam in Southeast Asia Countries

The methods by which Islam reached the shores of Southeast Asia are still debatable as minimal material literature is available to justify the theories. However, there is one undebatable agreement that Islam spread either forcefully through military aggression or voluntarily through trade. The definite time for the spread of Islam is unknown while the available archeological evidence put the timing at around the 13th century characterized by kingdoms and sultanates. The proximity to the sea indicates that Islam became extensively rooted in the archipelagic region of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. Melaka became the first sultanate in Southeast Asia established at around 1400 by a native prince who became a Muslim (Seat 2014, p. 503). The kingdom was established along the Melaka streets, which became known as the modern-day Malaysian peninsular (Siddique 2003, n.pag). Many merchants who traded with Southeast Asians accessed the region through Melaka where they influenced the prince to become a Muslim. However, the inversion of the area by Portuguese reduced the Islamic influence in the region. Other significant sultanates in Southeast Asia when Melaka ascended to power include “Aceh in the northern Sumatra; Johor on the Malay peninsula; the port cities of Demak and Banten on the north coast of Java; the kingdom of Mataram in central Java; and Ternate and Tidore in what is now Maluku” (Formichi 2016, p. 710). By the advent of the 16th century, Islam had spread to the Sulu archipelago that saw the establishment of the sultanate on the Island of Mindanao currently known as the Philippines (Cochrane 2017, n.pag). Currently, the majority of Southeast Asian Muslims live in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with Indonesia being the most significant Muslim country in the globe (Siddique 2003, n.pag). Majority of the nations in the region have a substantial number of Muslim minorities such as Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Despite the collapse of the ancient kingdom Champa in Vietnam and Cambodia in the 14th century, the majority of its population converted to Islam and moved to other neighboring kingdoms (Seat 2014, p. 503).

Current Issues in Southeast Asia

Indonesia

Indonesia had witnessed an extensive period of an authoritarian system of government imposed by the Suharto regime. However, the fall of the regime in 1998 led to the emergence of a democratic rule. Since then, new political parties have emerged that integrate Islamic principles into their policies. Despite the political gains made in the elections in 1999 and 2004, the gains were harmonized by the parliamentary election in 2009 (Seat 2014, p. 504). Other political parties within Indonesia have emerged that do not focus much on Islamic laws but gained extensive support during the polls. They include Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle, Democratic Party, and Golcar (Formichi 2016, p. 712). The 2009 presidential campaigns, where presidential campaign posters contained portraits of the wives of presidential candidates wearing headscarves, prove that the religion is held in high esteem among the locals. However, the emergence of Islamic radicalization that saw the bombing of two luxury hotels in Jakarta in 2009 elections (Siddique 2003, n.pag). The primary suspects in the attack were the Jemaah Islamiyah adherents. Despite nationwide condemnation of the bombing by Muslims within the country, there still exists substantial proof that radical Muslims still live in the country.

Malaysia

The prosecution of former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim sparked riots in 1990, causing political instability in the country (“Islam, The Spread Of Islam To Southeast Asia” 2017). The process of his conviction and later being acquitted led to political transformations within the nation.

The Philippines

The country has a minority Muslim population attributed to US colonization and later colonization by the Portuguese, which spread Christianity making it the majority Christian country in the region dominated by Muslims (Seat 2014, p. 504). The minority Muslims in the Philippines live on the island of Mindanao. Conflicts between the majority Christian Catholics and Muslims have been rampant over the years.

Myanmar

The minority Muslims living in this country have been subjected to military repression, thereby leading to death and relocation to other countries. The Rohingya have been subjected to oppression by the current authoritarian regime (Seat 2014, p. 504). Most of them have sought asylum in Bangladesh despite being close neighbors to Thailand who are unwelcoming. Thailand has a minority Muslim population in the southern part bordering Malaysia.

Conclusion

The trade between Southeast Asia and China through India escalated the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. The cooperation between the Kingdom leaders and the Islamic scholars increased the rate of spread of Islam among the Southeast Asians. As such, the paper has investigated the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia and the factors that facilitated its spread, such as trade, integration of pre-Islamic cultures with Islamic cultures, and the conversion of Melaka the prince to Islam. Despite the spread of Islam in this region, European powers had substantial influence in some states that restricted the infiltration by Islamic scholars such as the Philippines.

References

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